Attachment for backhoe bucket

ABSTRACT

A pair of triangular wings are detachably mounted on the opposite side panels of a backhoe bucket to enable the same bucket to be used efficiently to dig excavations with sloped sidewalls or with conventional vertical walls.

United States Patent- 1191 Clark 7 1451 Feb. 19, 1974 s41 ATTACHMENT FOR BACKHOE BUCKET 3.003.264 10/1961 Shore 37/118 R x [76] Inventor: Harry C. Clark, 226 w. Per y St, 3,286,377 11/1966 Long 37/103 X Belvidere, 111. 61008 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 22 Filed: M 15 1972 832,469 4/1960 Great Britain 37/118 R [21] Appl' 252981 Primary ExaminerFrank E. Werner Y Attorney, Agent, or FirmW01fe, Hubbard, Leydig, [52] U.S. Cl. 37/118 R, 37/80 A, 37/103, Voit & Osann, Ltd.

' 214/145 [5 Int. [58] Field of Search 214/138, 145; 37/103, 118 R, 1

37/118 A, 141 R 80 A A pan of trlangular wmgs are detachably mounted on the opposite side panels of a backhoe bucket to enable [56] References Cited the same bucket to be used efficiently to dig excava- UNITED STATES PATENTS gglnvsvxlrllh sloped sldewalls or wlth conventlonal vertl- 2,480,656 8 1949 Jenne 37 141 R 2,972,425 2/1961 Anderson et a1. 37/103 X 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENT FEB] 91914 SHEEI 2 BF 2 ATTACHMENT FOR BACKHOE BUCKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a backhoe bucket for use in digging a trench or other excavation and, more particularly, to a bucket for digging an excavation with sidewalls which slope upwardly and outwardly from the bottom of the excavation toreduce the danger of the sidewalls caving in.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide a unique attachment for use with a conventional backhoe bucket to enable the same bucket to be used selectively and efficiently to dig excavations with sloped sidewalls or to dig standard excavations with vertical sidewalls.

A more detailed object of the invention is to accomplish the foregoing through the provision of novel wings adapted to be mounted detachably on opposite sides of the bucket so that the'sloped sidewalls are formed by the slicing action of the outer edges of the wings as the bucket is operated in a normal fashion to dig the excavation. When the wings are removed, the bucket can be used to dig a standard vertical excavation without the wings resisting movement of the bucket through the earth and without the wings interfering with the maneuverability of the bucket.

The invention also resides in thenovel shape of the wings and in the unique arrangement for attaching and supporting the wings on the opposite side panels of the bucket.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS during an intermediate stage of digging'with the bucket.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing various steps carried out while performing an exemplary digging operation with the bucket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT boom is formed by an elongated main arm or mast 15 fulcrumed atone end on a pivot'l6 for vertical swinging and having a horizontal pivot 17 at its free end supporting a second arm l9 of the boom, the latter arm commonly being called a dipper stick. The bucket, in turn, is mounted to swing at the lower end of the dipper stick about'the generally horizontal pivot 13.

With the foregoing arrangement, vertical movement of the bucket 10 is accomplished with the usual operating mechanism including hydraulic cylinders 20 and 21 which include rods 22 and 23, respectively. The cylinder 20 acts between a platform 24 on the rear of the tractor and a pivot 25 on the upper end of the dipper stick 19 to swing the latter toward and away from the tractor. The cylinder 21 is fastened at one end to the upper portion of the dipper stick and at the other end to the bucket to rock or curl the bucket about its pivot 13. Additional actuators (not shown) act between the platform 24 and the mast 15 to swing the latter upwardly and downwardly and from side-to-side.

The bucket 10 is formed by two side panels 26 (FIG. 2) disposed in vertical planes and spanned by a generally curved plate 27 which forms the rear and bottom walls 29 and 30 of the bucket. At the front of the bucket, the plate terminates in a digging edge or lower lip 31 which, in the present instance, has mounted thereon three horizontally spaced and forwardly extending teeth 33. The top of the bucket is open and includes upstanding forward ears 34 integrally connected to a bar 35 spanning the two side panels. A pivot pin 36 (FIG. 1) extends through the ears to connect the bucket to the dipper stick 19 and to definethe pivot 13. Two rear cars 37 are also mounted on the bar 35 and are connected to the end of the rod 23 leading from the cylinder 21. Thus, as the rod is moved in and out of the cylinder, the bucket is pivoted or curled on the end of the dipper stick.

In use, the rear of the backhoe is supported by a pair of legs 40 (FIG. 5) which are mounted on the rear of the tractor adjacent opposite sides of the platform 24. Each of the legs includes a hydraulic cylinder 41 with one end connected to the tractor and a rod 43 extending out of the other end. Pivotally. attached to the free end of each of the rods is a foot pad 44 for distributing the weight of the tractor across a relatively large area of the ground. By adjusting the extent of projection of the rods from the cylinders, the rear of the tractor may be leveled and supported by the legs for digging with the bucket 10.

Once the tractor is in position andset up for excavating, initial entry into the ground is accomplished by actuating the cylinders 20 and 21 to retract the rods 22 and 23 and thereby straighten out and fully extend the boom 11. At the same time, the actuatorcontrolling vertical movement of the mast 15 is actuated to pivot the mast toward the ground until the digging teeth 33 strike the ground. Thereafter, the .bucket 10 is curled on the end of the dipper stick 19 which is pivoted toward the tractor while the mast is pivoted away from the ground to cause a load of earth to be scooped into the bucket. Repeated scooping forms the desired excavation which may be widened simply by swinging the mast horizontally to one side or the other and scooping alongside the hole previously formed.

Digging in the above described fashion with the usual bucket 10 having vertical or upright side panels26 results in the formation of an excavation with standard vertical sidewalls. Such excavations may be satisfactory for some purposes but in other instances, such as for purposes of safety, it may be necessary to have the sidewalls of the excavation on a slope to reduce the danger of the sidewalls caving inwardly.

In accordance with the primary aspect of the present invention, provision is made of two unique wings 45 detachably mountable on the bucket to enable the backhoe operator to selectively use the bucket for dig ging excavations with sloping sidewalls. When attached to the bucket, the outer edges 46 of the wings are positioned to dig an excavation 47 (see FIG. 4) with sloping sidewalls 49 which resist cave-ins and thereby make the excavation safe for those who subsequently work in the excavation. By detaching the wings from the bucket, the backhoe may be used in the normal fashion to dig standard excavations with vertical sidewalls and, when so used, the bucket may be moved straight down into the earth without need of forcing the wings through the earth. Thus, through the provision of the wings 45, the same bucket 10 may be used efficiently to dig different types of excavations.

In the present instance, the two wings 45 are mounted on opposite sides of the bucket 10 along the upper edges 50 of the side panels 26. Since the wings are mirror images of each other and are mounted on the bucket in the same fashion, only one of the wings will be described in detail. As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the wing 45 comprises a generally triangular planar portion 51 disposed in a plane which is inclined upwardly and outwardly from the side panel at an obtuse angle a, of about 125. A rear edge 56 of the triangular portion forms a generally right angle with an inner edge 52 which extends along the upper edge 50 of the side panel. Depending from the inner edge is an integral flange 53 for abutting the outer surface of the side panel. A plurality of openings 54 in the flange are aligned with similar openings 55 formed through the side panel along the edge 50 to receive bolts 58 for securing the wing detachably on the side panel. In addition, an L-shaped connector 60 interfits with the edge 50 to transmit load and digging forces from the wing to the side panel. A hole 61 through the connector and a corresponding opening 63 in the side panel also receive a bolt 69 to help secure the wing to the side panel.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer edge 46 of the wing 45 is inclined inwardly and forwardly and thus converges upon the upper edge 50 of the side panel 26 upon progressing from the rear to the front of the bucket 10. In the exemplary embodiment, the angle b at which the outer edge 46 is inclined with respect to the inner edge 52 is approximately 25. The outer edge of the wing serves as the cutting edge for digging the sidewall on a slope which substantially corresponds to the angle b at which the outer edge slopes away from the side panel. I

lntegrally formed with the rearedge S6 of the planar portion 51 is a triangular brace or support plate 57 which extends downwardly at a substantially right angle from the underside of the planar portion. The vertical inner edge 59 of the support plate 57 abuts the outer surface of the side panel 26 to prevent the wing from being folded downwardly against the side panel during digging. An outer edge 62 of the support plate slants inwardly from the outer edge 46 of the wing toward the side panel and thus is relieved was to avoid digging into the sidewall 49 as the bucket is curled on the end of the boom 11.

Advantageously, the wings 45 enable the sloped sidewalls 49 to be formed quickly and easily as an incident to digging the excavation 47 and without a substantial increase in the amount of maneuvering which would be required to dig a normal excavation with vertical sidewalls. Many different procedures may be followed in digging the sloped sidewalls, depending upon the type of excavation being dug and the nature of the earth being removed. One preferred way of digging with the wings is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 where an excavation 47 such as a trench with sloped sidewalls 49 is dug by removing successive horizontal layers 64 of earth (see FIG. 4). In this instance, the tractor is set up along the centerline 68 of the trench to be dug. If, however, the trench is to be dug substantially wider than the extended length of the boom 11, the tractor may be set up and operated first on one side and then the other side of the trench to remove the layers of earth. In either instance, as each layer of earth is removed, portions of the sloped sidewalls of the trench are formed at the opposite ends of each layer.

It will be appreciated that with the tractor set up on the centerline 68 of the trench 47, the normal scooping action of the bucket 10 toward the rear of the tractor will dig the sidewalls so that they converge on the centerline to make the trench narrower as it approaches the rear of the tractor. In order to dig the sidewalls so that the width of the trench remains constant, the boom 11 must be swung away from the centerline as the bucket is scooped through the earth to form one of the sidewalls. The usual backhoe does not have a substantial amount of power for swinging the boom from side to side. For this reason, it has been found desirable to remove the layers 64 of earth from the trench 47 by first removing the earth from the opposite ends of the layers (see FIGS. 1, 4 and 5) before removing the earth in the center of the layer. By digging in this manner, the bucket is captivated in the earth between the walls of the hole being scooped out and thus is supported along the outer edges 46 of both wings 45 so that only a small amount of force is required for swinging the boom away from the centerline as the bucket is scooped through the earth. Thus, it is relatively easy to dig the sidewalls 49 of the trench 47 parallel to the centerline by taking advantage of the lateral support provided by the unremoved earth along both sides of the bucket.

As shown in FIG. 4, the desired slope of each of the sidewalls 49 is formed by holding thebucket 10 generally vertically with respect to the ground and by then drawing the bucket toward the rear of the tractor while at the same time'operating the cylinders 20 and 21 and the other actuators to swing the boom away from the centerline 68. As this is done, for instance when digging the sidewall 49a, the wing 45a digs through the earth along the edge of the trench (see FIG. 4) and causes the sidewall 49a to slope upwardly and outwardly away from the bottom of the trench at aninclin'e corresponding to the taper angle of the outer edge 46 of the wing.

After the bucket 10 has been drawn through the earth and is almost full, it is curled about the pivot 13 to scoop up enough additional earth to load the bucket completely. It will be appreciated that with the wings 45 flaring upwardly away from the side panels 26 it not only is possible to scoop out a larger volume of earth but also the hole is kept relatively clean since the wings direct the earth more toward the center of the bucket rather than the earth falling over the side panels and back into the trench 47. In addition, the flaring of the wings sets the wings at a rake angle so that the digging edges 46 of the wings cut or slice through the earth rather than ripping or tearing. loose the dirt to be romoved. For this reason, the earth beyond the sidewalls of the excavation remains essentially undisturbed and thus is more resistant to cave-ins.

Once the sidewall 49 has been dug to a depth equaling the length of the bucket 47, any further downward digging ont only would be extremely difficult but also would remove the sloped surface at the upper edge of the sidewall and thus leave a vertical upper portion of the sidewall. In order to continue digging the trench 47 with sloped sidewalls, the mast is swung to the opposite side of the trench (see FIG. 4) and the digging operation is begun again to further remove the first layer 64 and, at the same time, to form a portion of the opposite sidewall 49b with the desired slope. The remaining portion of the earth between the two partially formed sidewalls is dug out in the normal fashion to complete the removal of the first layer of earth before beginning to dig out the second layer. Successive layers of earth may be removed in a similar manner to complete digging of the excavation with sidewalls formed with the desired slope.

It will be appreciated that the trench 47 and other similar excavations may be dug with sidewalls 49 of different slopes by using wings 45 with outer edges which taper inwardly at different angles. In addition, minor changes in the slope of a sidewall formed with any particular set of wings may be achieved by actuating the cylinders 40 and 41 to tilt the rear of the tractor in one direction or the other so that the normal digging action on the bucket 47 is in other than a vertical plane.

I claim as my invention: I

1. A digging bucket having an open top, a bottom wall with a front digging edge, a back wall and upright side panels, said bucket being adapted for use with a backhoe and including two wings positionable on the side panels adjacent the open top of the bucket so as to flare upwardly and outwardly away from said open top, said wings having outer digging edges inclined inwardly and forwardly and converging toward each other upon progressing from the back wall toward the front digging edge, said outer edges being engageable with the earth to form an-excavation with sidewalls which slope upwardly and outwardly, and means for detachably mounting said wings on the bucket to enable the latter to be used to dig excavations with sloped sidewalls when said wings are attached and excavations with vertical sidewalls when said wings are removed.

2. A digging bucket as defined by claim 1 wherein said means includes flanges connected to the inner edges of said wings for abutting engagement with the outer surfaces of said side panels, and bolts projecting through holes in said flanges and aligned holes in said side panels to anchor said wings to the bucket.

3. A digging bucket as defined by claim 2 further including L-shaped connectors connected to the inner edges of said wings and engageable with the inner surfaces of said side panels to transmit force between said wings and said side panels and to help said bolts hold said wings on the side panels.

4. A digging bucket as defined by claim 3 further including support braces connected to and depending from said wings for abutting engagement with the outer surfaces of said side panels to prevent the wings from being bent toward said bottom wall when excavating. 

1. A digging bucket having an open top, a bottom wall with a front digging edge, a back wall and upright side panels, said bucket being adapted for use with a backhoe and including two wings positionable on the side panels adjacent the open top of the bucket so as to flare upwardly and outwardly away from said open top, said wings having outer digging edges inclined inwardly and forwardly and converging toward each other upon progressing from the back wall toward the front digging edge, said outer edges being engageable with the earth to form an excavation with sidewalls which slope upwardly and outwardly, and means for detachably mounting said wings on the bucket to enable the latter to be used to dig excavations with sloped sidewalls when said wings are attached and excavations with vertical sidewalls when said wings are removed.
 2. A digging bucket as defined by claim 1 wherein said means includes flanges connected to the inner edges of said wings for abutting engagement with the outer surfaces of said side panels, and bolts projecting through holes in said flanges and aligned holes in said side panels to anchor said wings to the bucket.
 3. A digging bucket as defined by claim 2 further including L-shaped connectors connected to the inner edges of said wings and engageable with the inner surfaces of said side panels to transmit force between said wings and said side panels and to help said bolts hold said wings on the side panels.
 4. A digging bucket as defined by claim 3 further including support braces connected to and depending from said wings for abutting engagement with the outer surfaces of said side panels to prevent the wings from being bent toward said bottom wall when excavating. 